After lunch, and a quick check to ensure that she had both an emergency blade and wand close at hand under her desk, Elance Hammerdown sent for her second applicant to stop by. Unfortunately, the moment the young man walked in, she again felt like this was going to be something of a waste of time. He was clearly from a class or two above the fishmonger who had come by earlier, his clothing being probably worth eight months of a shop clerk's wages, and he carried a sword on his belt - a fancy showpiece more than a tool of war. He barely looked twenty years old, and going from the awkward look in his eyes he lacked the confidence of the young, bloody-minded woman. Still, Elance felt determined to at least hear everyone out.
"Kahlia preserve me, you're an even more fresh-faced sod than the last lass who came in here. Sit down before your knees buckle, lad. And who might you be?"
The man gives a shaky grin as he takes the open seat, clearly somewhat intimidated by her brusque tone, an early test already failed. "Ah, hello, Bountiful Mother Hammerdown, it is good to meet you this, um, this pleasant afternoon. I would be the Honorable Perlin Fadesworth, and I'm pleased you are willing to hear out my application."
"Let's not get too pleasured just yet, now. Honorable, that'd make you the younger son of a...what, an Earl, now?"
Perlin shakes his head. "Ah, Viscount Fadesworth is my father, Bountiful Mother. We have an estate near the coast to the east of here."
"Ah, southern nobility, my mistake. This is a little outside of my usual territory, you understand." Inwardly, the dwarf sighs to herself. Nobility in the Kingdom of the Rainlands weren't what they had once been on the Old Continents, before the Age of Warlocks and its dramatic end laid waste to most major family lines. However, they did still tend to be some of the richest families around, and humans and dwarves alike both tended to pay them a bit more respect than some others would. Most dwarves, at least - Elance's church rank meant she rarely had to suffer fools, whatever title they might apply to themselves.
"That's quite alright, we're not the um, most famous name in the land or anything like that. In peacetime we're largely known for forestry products, although our family has quite the history of famous warriors in the battles with the Dragonlord's denizens."
"I'm sure they do. But why in the world would a young son of an illustrious house have an interest in becoming a dungeon monster?"
The man licks his lips, hesitating before he answers. "Well, as you say, Mother, I'm a...young son. Fourth in line, that is. My oldest brother has been learning the family business, and the next has made a decent career for himself in the army. And actually, my next sibling is herself a Cleric, although, ah, not in the Church of Bounty, I'm afraid."
Elance barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. "And what does any of that have to do with you? You ran out of other jobs to draw out of the family hat and someone slipped in 'dungeon boss' as a prank?"
"Well, you see, my father...it seemed to us that it would be very honorable for our family, if one of us were to become an immortal warrior. Fortunes can rise and fall, but dungeons can last for centuries. Good or ill, generations of our family would be able to point to Worthy Dungeon and say 'there is a Fadesworth who fights with our name'. My accomplishments within the dungeon could reflect well on us outside its bounds, as well."
Elance's eyes grow a little wide. "Are you serious, lad?"
The man rushes out his next statement, misjudging her concerns. "I do actually have combat training, Mother! I'm a level 12 Duelist, by Association rankings!"
"Lad. Lad...no, for Kahlia's sake! Are you saying your family, your father, sent you to die in the name of honor!?"
Perlin's face grows a little pale, but he nods. "Is that any different than a warrior going off to fight, Bountiful Mother?"
"Yes! Soldiers don't go off to commit suicide, young man! Perhaps if you were an elderly fellow, looking for one last glory to earn for his name, that'd be one thing, but are ye even twenty years of age?"
"I am! Twenty, that is, yes."
"Barely more than a boy, yet it's your father I've got an urge to bend over my knee and give a good spanking to. Look, Honorable Fadesworth, you got to have some sense of your own worth before you can expect to be proving it to anyone else! Take an interest in your own well-being! Or if you must work for your family's honor, there's better ways - hells, even if you wish to find glory within a dungeon, do it as a Challenger! You're young, even if you never made it beyond Master rank that'd be impressive enough for anybody!"
"Is...is that safer, do you think?"
"Than walking into a dungeon and slitting your own throat? Yes! At least then you've got a chance! Though I daresay, get yourself training in a better swordsman class first, I've yet to see a 'Duelist' around to try the dungeon and I expect there's a reason for that. Monsters don't tend to fight by standard rules of honor, that much is for certain." Elance shakes her head. "But regardless - no, I'm denying your application. Come back in another forty or fifty years, perhaps."
The young man swallows, but Elance would say that some part of him looks relieved. "Ah, I...understand. Thank you for your time, Bountiful Mother."
"Of course." As he makes his exit, the dwarf sighs to herself. "At least Worthy had the foresight to set this up, if these young folk were just wandering in there, what a nightmare. But she's certainly going to owe us for this. I hope Greenie and Lilly are at least having more fun on their part of the task..."
Lilly Fullblossom looks down at the mushrooms growing near her feet. "This...this doesn't seem right at all. Rather disturbing, as a matter of fact."
Lollyp peers up at her from where she's crouched by a nearby Floor Four tree, gathering mushrooms of her own. "What, you've never seen Toadbane Mushrooms before? If the purple spots didn't make it obvious enough, I know the identification is right because Xenia was able to specifically pick them from her creation menu."
"I don't disagree about their identification, it's that, well - what are the mushrooms you're gathering at that one? Gnolltoe?"
Lollyp nods. "Yup. Good for aerosol-based alchemy, you know? Good spores. Why do you ask?"
The elven Priestess gestures at the flora arranged around her. "Because this is a perfectly spaced patch of Toadbane, and that's a perfect patch of Gnolltoe, and - those over there are Fairy Beds, yes? This isn't how a forest is supposed to work! Perfect patches arranged in a row so you can just...gather a week's worth of ingredients in half an hour!"
The floor boss gives Lilly a very confused look. "I'm sorry, are you complaining that this is too easy?"
"It just feels unnatural, is all! Are you perhaps doing this to attract gatherer-adventurers? I've heard there is such a thing."
"No, just for me, and I need it to be efficient cause at any given time I might get a warning that I need to go back upstairs and throw a fireball at somebody. As far as the gathering stuff goes, apparently that is an option. But, making a 'node' that people can collect stuff from, and actually have it survive outside the dungeon, requires an ongoing mana investment like the river does. No point if no one's coming by to try it, so that's mostly only something you find in specialized dungeons."
"Ah, that makes sense." Lilly spends a few minutes collecting from her assigned mushroom patch, before again turning towards Lollyp. "So...I heard we missed a rather interesting intrusion this morning?"
Lollyp shoots back a grin. "Yeah, shame you weren't around. Musta been pretty tired out after last night, huh? And that's with Xenia only being able to last an hour..."
Lilly blushes. "Well, I mean - Xenia and Taly were actually able to continue on together for - wait, no you're changing the topic! Tell me about this party we missed!"
The slime's smile remains for a moment, but fades before she begins to answer. "...Hey, tell me something, Lilly. In your like...professional opinion as a Priestess and all that. Am...I a bad person for doing what I do?"
The amusement on the elf's face quickly becomes replaced with a look of concern. "A bad person? I mean, certainly I know there are some people who say that dungeons are evil, and there are occasional tales of some truly twisted ones - not that they last very long. But we must remember that dungeons were created by the gods, and that you're only reactive creations - people must come to you, not the other way around. I suppose one could argue that it would be evil for you to take enjoyment in your task, but...I think it would be rather horrible if you didn't."
Lollyp's surprise at Lilly's final statement is evident as she probes further. "Wait, what? You want me to enjoy killing people?"
"Well - think about what it would mean if you didn't! If you had to spend hundreds of years, killing people every week if not every day, and it tore at you? Would that not be a punishment akin to a Hell? Now, there are perhaps limits...if you fully enjoyed it, perhaps I wouldn't be comfortable spending time with you like this. But I think it should not weigh on you too much, either."
Lollyp nods, and spends a bit more time in thought before continuing. "I guess I've just been thinking about, like...the moral weight of all this. There was a fury demon, right, and you know how they are. Except this one was practically going insane at how much sin she thought she sensed in here. And I have killed a lot of people the last few months, but...apparently that was nothing in comparison. And it just gets me to thinking..."
Lilly's brow furrows, and she edges a little closer. "Thinking about what?"
The slime shakes her head. "Just that, if everything I've done is just a drop in a bucket, and it's enough to make me feel bad...how bad is it for Xenia? Just...just what did she do?"
When the third and final applicant of the day comes through Elance's door, the dwarf's first reaction is actually one of relief, despite the fact that the orc's appearance shows more indications of violence than the first two guests put together. The man isn't too old, perhaps just shy of middle age, but his body is marked by signs of experience. Scars cover his face, and his bare right upper arm. They'd probably cover the left side as well, if it weren't for the fact that it was missing, the faint stump covered by cloth. His right leg doesn't seem much better, and the man has a noticeable limp as he makes his way towards the desk. His yellow eyes show hints of confidence and strength within them though, and Elance feels happy to offer him a seat.
"Welcome to my extremely humble office, good sir, you may call me Elance, I'm not one for titles around here. Now, I may be picking up slight hints of your story already, but perhaps you ought to tell me it yourself, aye?"
The orc nods with a grin as he takes the open chair. "Some things are obvious, eh? My name is Trush of Tash'narc, although some call me Sharptongue."
Elance raises an eyebrow. "Because of your clever wit, is it?"
Trush's grin goes wider. "Not at all. It's because I once slit a man's throat using a knife I held in my mouth."
The dwarf gives a steady nod. "I...trust you had your reasons for such a deed?"
The man nods again. "Was in the army at the time, happened in one of the hundred border skirmishes that happen every year. That was before I became a Challenger, though. Currently, I sit before you as a level 26 Shieldbreaker. Melee combatant, specialized for taking down those in heavy armor."
"I imagine it's been a little difficult increasing your rank, given..." Elance gestures at the man's missing limb, and Trush nods in response.
"Haven't been able to do a thing since it happened, two years back. I enjoy combat, but I'm not one of those fools who will rush into a suicidal fight just for one last feel of glory. This was a career-ender for me, at least as far as challenging goes. Been making a living since doing support work for the army, although I'm no longer a soldier."
The dwarf's look is rather unconvinced. "You're not looking for suicide...but you do want to apply to spend your life in a dungeon? You're not so old, you still seem to have plenty of good years left ahead of you."
This time, Trush shakes his head in a negative. "I could survive, Elance, but good years? No. My career now is a pity position for an old veteran, there will be no advancement for me. For the past two years I've been doing busy work, pushing paper and writing reports...it keeps me fed and sheltered, but it's no life for me. Even if I might live another three or four decades...I cannot see myself continuing as I am now."
"And you believe the dungeon is your solution to your problems?"
The orc gives a rueful laugh. "At the least, it will replace my current problems with an entirely new and interesting set! I'm no battle-maniac, but I am good at it and I enjoy it well enough. Especially dungeon combat...there's something about a place designed by the gods to test a man's mettle, don't you think? Besides..." His voice trails off for a moment, before chuckling again. "I've heard some very interesting things about this dungeon in particular as well. Not to go into too much detail, Bountiful Mother, but I'll say that while I have no children, it hasn't been for want of trying."
"That's not..." Elance pauses, reconsidering her initial reaction. "Well, I would say that's most likely not relevant, but given everything, perhaps I'd be foolish to discount it."
"Heheh. So, you think this Worthy Dungeon might have a spot for a broken-down orc like myself?"
Elance sighs. "Well, I'll say first that you're a bit early - a few of my colleagues are currently...on a trip for a few more days, and I won't be making any decisions without their input." She eyes the man for a moment more, before continuing. "But, I will say that I won't throw you back out the door just for showing up, at least. Since you're here, why don't you tell me a little bit more about your Challenger career, eh?"
Trush leans forward, an eager look on his face. "I do love to weave a good tale, Elance. Now, I'd just left the army as a level 12 Vanguard..."
DaScoot
Hey, just wanted to give a special thanks to all my ScribbleHub readers tonight! Aside from hitting #1 on Trending again, today we just passed 1k active readers! We've even passed up RoyalRoad, despite me starting the story there about five months sooner. Glad you're enjoying the story!
After lunch, and a quick check to ensure that she had both an emergency blade and wand close at hand under her desk, Elance Hammerdown sent for her second applicant to stop by. Unfortunately, the moment the young man walked in, she again felt like this was going to be something of a waste of time. He was clearly from a class or two above the fishmonger who had come by earlier, his clothing being probably worth eight months of a shop clerk's wages, and he carried a sword on his belt - a fancy showpiece more than a tool of war. He barely looked twenty years old, and going from the awkward look in his eyes he lacked the confidence of the young, bloody-minded woman. Still, Elance felt determined to at least hear everyone out.
"Kahlia preserve me, you're an even more fresh-faced sod than the last lass who came in here. Sit down before your knees buckle, lad. And who might you be?"
The man gives a shaky grin as he takes the open seat, clearly somewhat intimidated by her brusque tone, an early test already failed. "Ah, hello, Bountiful Mother Hammerdown, it is good to meet you this, um, this pleasant afternoon. I would be the Honorable Perlin Fadesworth, and I'm pleased you are willing to hear out my application."
"Let's not get too pleasured just yet, now. Honorable, that'd make you the younger son of a...what, an Earl, now?"
Perlin shakes his head. "Ah, Viscount Fadesworth is my father, Bountiful Mother. We have an estate near the coast to the east of here."
"Ah, southern nobility, my mistake. This is a little outside of my usual territory, you understand." Inwardly, the dwarf sighs to herself. Nobility in the Kingdom of the Rainlands weren't what they had once been on the Old Continents, before the Age of Warlocks and its dramatic end laid waste to most major family lines. However, they did still tend to be some of the richest families around, and humans and dwarves alike both tended to pay them a bit more respect than some others would. Most dwarves, at least - Elance's church rank meant she rarely had to suffer fools, whatever title they might apply to themselves.
"That's quite alright, we're not the um, most famous name in the land or anything like that. In peacetime we're largely known for forestry products, although our family has quite the history of famous warriors in the battles with the Dragonlord's denizens."
"I'm sure they do. But why in the world would a young son of an illustrious house have an interest in becoming a dungeon monster?"
The man licks his lips, hesitating before he answers. "Well, as you say, Mother, I'm a...young son. Fourth in line, that is. My oldest brother has been learning the family business, and the next has made a decent career for himself in the army. And actually, my next sibling is herself a Cleric, although, ah, not in the Church of Bounty, I'm afraid."
Elance barely stops herself from rolling her eyes. "And what does any of that have to do with you? You ran out of other jobs to draw out of the family hat and someone slipped in 'dungeon boss' as a prank?"
"Well, you see, my father...it seemed to us that it would be very honorable for our family, if one of us were to become an immortal warrior. Fortunes can rise and fall, but dungeons can last for centuries. Good or ill, generations of our family would be able to point to Worthy Dungeon and say 'there is a Fadesworth who fights with our name'. My accomplishments within the dungeon could reflect well on us outside its bounds, as well."
Elance's eyes grow a little wide. "Are you serious, lad?"
The man rushes out his next statement, misjudging her concerns. "I do actually have combat training, Mother! I'm a level 12 Duelist, by Association rankings!"
"Lad. Lad...no, for Kahlia's sake! Are you saying your family, your father, sent you to die in the name of honor!?"
Perlin's face grows a little pale, but he nods. "Is that any different than a warrior going off to fight, Bountiful Mother?"
"Yes! Soldiers don't go off to commit suicide, young man! Perhaps if you were an elderly fellow, looking for one last glory to earn for his name, that'd be one thing, but are ye even twenty years of age?"
"I am! Twenty, that is, yes."
"Barely more than a boy, yet it's your father I've got an urge to bend over my knee and give a good spanking to. Look, Honorable Fadesworth, you got to have some sense of your own worth before you can expect to be proving it to anyone else! Take an interest in your own well-being! Or if you must work for your family's honor, there's better ways - hells, even if you wish to find glory within a dungeon, do it as a Challenger! You're young, even if you never made it beyond Master rank that'd be impressive enough for anybody!"
"Is...is that safer, do you think?"
"Than walking into a dungeon and slitting your own throat? Yes! At least then you've got a chance! Though I daresay, get yourself training in a better swordsman class first, I've yet to see a 'Duelist' around to try the dungeon and I expect there's a reason for that. Monsters don't tend to fight by standard rules of honor, that much is for certain." Elance shakes her head. "But regardless - no, I'm denying your application. Come back in another forty or fifty years, perhaps."
The young man swallows, but Elance would say that some part of him looks relieved. "Ah, I...understand. Thank you for your time, Bountiful Mother."
"Of course." As he makes his exit, the dwarf sighs to herself. "At least Worthy had the foresight to set this up, if these young folk were just wandering in there, what a nightmare. But she's certainly going to owe us for this. I hope Greenie and Lilly are at least having more fun on their part of the task..."
Lilly Fullblossom looks down at the mushrooms growing near her feet. "This...this doesn't seem right at all. Rather disturbing, as a matter of fact."
Lollyp peers up at her from where she's crouched by a nearby Floor Four tree, gathering mushrooms of her own. "What, you've never seen Toadbane Mushrooms before? If the purple spots didn't make it obvious enough, I know the identification is right because Xenia was able to specifically pick them from her creation menu."
"I don't disagree about their identification, it's that, well - what are the mushrooms you're gathering at that one? Gnolltoe?"
Lollyp nods. "Yup. Good for aerosol-based alchemy, you know? Good spores. Why do you ask?"
The elven Priestess gestures at the flora arranged around her. "Because this is a perfectly spaced patch of Toadbane, and that's a perfect patch of Gnolltoe, and - those over there are Fairy Beds, yes? This isn't how a forest is supposed to work! Perfect patches arranged in a row so you can just...gather a week's worth of ingredients in half an hour!"
The floor boss gives Lilly a very confused look. "I'm sorry, are you complaining that this is too easy?"
"It just feels unnatural, is all! Are you perhaps doing this to attract gatherer-adventurers? I've heard there is such a thing."
"No, just for me, and I need it to be efficient cause at any given time I might get a warning that I need to go back upstairs and throw a fireball at somebody. As far as the gathering stuff goes, apparently that is an option. But, making a 'node' that people can collect stuff from, and actually have it survive outside the dungeon, requires an ongoing mana investment like the river does. No point if no one's coming by to try it, so that's mostly only something you find in specialized dungeons."
"Ah, that makes sense." Lilly spends a few minutes collecting from her assigned mushroom patch, before again turning towards Lollyp. "So...I heard we missed a rather interesting intrusion this morning?"
Lollyp shoots back a grin. "Yeah, shame you weren't around. Musta been pretty tired out after last night, huh? And that's with Xenia only being able to last an hour..."
Lilly blushes. "Well, I mean - Xenia and Taly were actually able to continue on together for - wait, no you're changing the topic! Tell me about this party we missed!"
The slime's smile remains for a moment, but fades before she begins to answer. "...Hey, tell me something, Lilly. In your like...professional opinion as a Priestess and all that. Am...I a bad person for doing what I do?"
The amusement on the elf's face quickly becomes replaced with a look of concern. "A bad person? I mean, certainly I know there are some people who say that dungeons are evil, and there are occasional tales of some truly twisted ones - not that they last very long. But we must remember that dungeons were created by the gods, and that you're only reactive creations - people must come to you, not the other way around. I suppose one could argue that it would be evil for you to take enjoyment in your task, but...I think it would be rather horrible if you didn't."
Lollyp's surprise at Lilly's final statement is evident as she probes further. "Wait, what? You want me to enjoy killing people?"
"Well - think about what it would mean if you didn't! If you had to spend hundreds of years, killing people every week if not every day, and it tore at you? Would that not be a punishment akin to a Hell? Now, there are perhaps limits...if you fully enjoyed it, perhaps I wouldn't be comfortable spending time with you like this. But I think it should not weigh on you too much, either."
Lollyp nods, and spends a bit more time in thought before continuing. "I guess I've just been thinking about, like...the moral weight of all this. There was a fury demon, right, and you know how they are. Except this one was practically going insane at how much sin she thought she sensed in here. And I have killed a lot of people the last few months, but...apparently that was nothing in comparison. And it just gets me to thinking..."
Lilly's brow furrows, and she edges a little closer. "Thinking about what?"
The slime shakes her head. "Just that, if everything I've done is just a drop in a bucket, and it's enough to make me feel bad...how bad is it for Xenia? Just...just what did she do?"
When the third and final applicant of the day comes through Elance's door, the dwarf's first reaction is actually one of relief, despite the fact that the orc's appearance shows more indications of violence than the first two guests put together. The man isn't too old, perhaps just shy of middle age, but his body is marked by signs of experience. Scars cover his face, and his bare right upper arm. They'd probably cover the left side as well, if it weren't for the fact that it was missing, the faint stump covered by cloth. His right leg doesn't seem much better, and the man has a noticeable limp as he makes his way towards the desk. His yellow eyes show hints of confidence and strength within them though, and Elance feels happy to offer him a seat.
"Welcome to my extremely humble office, good sir, you may call me Elance, I'm not one for titles around here. Now, I may be picking up slight hints of your story already, but perhaps you ought to tell me it yourself, aye?"
The orc nods with a grin as he takes the open chair. "Some things are obvious, eh? My name is Trush of Tash'narc, although some call me Sharptongue."
Elance raises an eyebrow. "Because of your clever wit, is it?"
Trush's grin goes wider. "Not at all. It's because I once slit a man's throat using a knife I held in my mouth."
The dwarf gives a steady nod. "I...trust you had your reasons for such a deed?"
The man nods again. "Was in the army at the time, happened in one of the hundred border skirmishes that happen every year. That was before I became a Challenger, though. Currently, I sit before you as a level 26 Shieldbreaker. Melee combatant, specialized for taking down those in heavy armor."
"I imagine it's been a little difficult increasing your rank, given..." Elance gestures at the man's missing limb, and Trush nods in response.
"Haven't been able to do a thing since it happened, two years back. I enjoy combat, but I'm not one of those fools who will rush into a suicidal fight just for one last feel of glory. This was a career-ender for me, at least as far as challenging goes. Been making a living since doing support work for the army, although I'm no longer a soldier."
The dwarf's look is rather unconvinced. "You're not looking for suicide...but you do want to apply to spend your life in a dungeon? You're not so old, you still seem to have plenty of good years left ahead of you."
This time, Trush shakes his head in a negative. "I could survive, Elance, but good years? No. My career now is a pity position for an old veteran, there will be no advancement for me. For the past two years I've been doing busy work, pushing paper and writing reports...it keeps me fed and sheltered, but it's no life for me. Even if I might live another three or four decades...I cannot see myself continuing as I am now."
"And you believe the dungeon is your solution to your problems?"
The orc gives a rueful laugh. "At the least, it will replace my current problems with an entirely new and interesting set! I'm no battle-maniac, but I am good at it and I enjoy it well enough. Especially dungeon combat...there's something about a place designed by the gods to test a man's mettle, don't you think? Besides..." His voice trails off for a moment, before chuckling again. "I've heard some very interesting things about this dungeon in particular as well. Not to go into too much detail, Bountiful Mother, but I'll say that while I have no children, it hasn't been for want of trying."
"That's not..." Elance pauses, reconsidering her initial reaction. "Well, I would say that's most likely not relevant, but given everything, perhaps I'd be foolish to discount it."
"Heheh. So, you think this Worthy Dungeon might have a spot for a broken-down orc like myself?"
Elance sighs. "Well, I'll say first that you're a bit early - a few of my colleagues are currently...on a trip for a few more days, and I won't be making any decisions without their input." She eyes the man for a moment more, before continuing. "But, I will say that I won't throw you back out the door just for showing up, at least. Since you're here, why don't you tell me a little bit more about your Challenger career, eh?"
Trush leans forward, an eager look on his face. "I do love to weave a good tale, Elance. Now, I'd just left the army as a level 12 Vanguard..."
DaScoot
Hey, just wanted to give a special thanks to all my ScribbleHub readers tonight! Aside from hitting #1 on Trending again, today we just passed 1k active readers! We've even passed up RoyalRoad, despite me starting the story there about five months sooner. Glad you're enjoying the story!
